Machine for washing and amalgamating gold



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE C. WHEELER, OF GRAYSVILLE, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, AND GEO.CALVERT, OF UPPERVILLE, VIRGINIA.

MACHINE FOR WASHING AND AMALGAMATING GOLD.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 24,706, dated July 5, 1859.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE CALVERT VHEELER, of Graysville, in the countyof Catoosa and State of Georgia, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Machines for lVa-shing and Amalgamating Gold; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming apart of this specification, in which Figure 1, is avertical central section of a gold washer and amalgamator constructedafter my invention. Fig. 2, is a. horizontal section of the same.

Similar letters of reference, in each of the several figures indicatecorresponding parts.

The nature of my invention consists in the combination of a series ofhorizontally revolving vertical hollow tubes with a series ofhorizontally revolving rakes and a. stationary vessel or receiver,substantially as hereinafter described.

It also consists in arranging the body of the vessel or receiver so asto be adjusted or elevated independently of its dish shaped bottom,substantially as and for the purposes hereinafter described.

By the use of the vertical tubes, the mercury is exposed to the actionof descending columns of water and consequently an ebullition or boilingup of the same is constantly going on; and thus covering up of the sameby sand and foreign substances avoided, and while this ebullition isgoing on, the water and quartz are stirred up and keptin circulation bythe rakes and the descending columns of water and consequently athorough and speedy washing and amalgama' tion of the precious metalwith the quick silver accomplished. And by having the body of the vesselcapable of being elevated independently of the amalgamating or mercurydish or basin which forms the bottom of the receiver or washing andamalgamating vessel, the water can be allowed to flow out all round thelower edge of the receiver and over the edge of the basin 01' bottom andthus the sand and foreign substances carried off, while the gold andmercury, owing to their superior specific gravity, remain in the basinor dish formed bottom to be removed in any proper manner after severalquantities of quartz are thus washed and the precious metals theycontain amalgamated with the quicksilver.

To enable others skilled in the art, to make and use my invention, Iwill proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, is a frame for supporting the machine.

B, C, is the receiver or washing and amalgamating vessel. The part B, ofthis vessel is stationary and is of dish form on its upper surface so asto contain the quick-silver. The body-part C, is to be fitted watertight to the bottom part B, and yet is arranged so as to be adjustableup and down.

In the drawing, I have shown a ring D, with two arms a, a, pivoted tothe sides of the body of the receiving or washing vessel and arranged toslide up and down in slots (Z, (Z, of the frame; for the purpose ofadjusting the body of the receiver. This adjustment is effected byelevating the arms, as shown in red. Thus adjusting the parts, allowswater to flow over the edge of the bottom B, in a manner to carry offall sand and foreign matter.

E, is a vertical shaft arranged in the center of the receiver on a conestep c. On the upper end of this shaft, a bevel pinion F, is fastenedand with this pinion, another pinion G, of a crank shaft gear as shown.

Gr, G G are three sets of wings, keyed fast on the shaft as shown. Thesewings are toothed so as to act as rakes. The lower set G, stir up thesurface of the mercury, and thus keep it exposed and free from a coatingof sand, while the other two sets G G serve for stirring the quartz andwater and thus keeping the same in motion and holding the foreignmatters in suspension until the gold deposits and amalgamates.

In order to render the exposition of the mercury more perfect and theagitation and washing of the quartz more thorough, I arrange between therakes a series of vertical hollow tubes H, H, H, H. These tubes pro jectdown from an enlarged water hopper I, which is arranged so as to slideup and down loosely on the shaft E, and to turn with it. The lower endsof the tubes nearly touch the surface of thequick-silver. With this lastarrangement, by allowing water to fall from a height, into the hopper I,and descend through the tubes, a boiling up orebullition of the mercuryand also of the water and quartz will be produced. This agitationcombined with that produced by the revolution of the rakes, causes aspeedy washing and a bringing in contact of the precious metals with thequick-silver.

As soon as the sand has collected on the 7 bottom or basin B,sufliciently deep to interfere with the perfect amalgamation of the goldwith the mercury the body of the receiver and the water hopper and tubesare elevated as shown in red and the water allowed to flow and wash thesand over the edge of the basin B, without disturbing the gold andmercury.

scribed. V v

GEO. 0. WHEELER. Witnesses:

J. A. CARPENTER, W. C. DAVIDSON.

